How I Use Tarot To Set Monthly Goals

It’s no secret that I love tarot. I’ve been reading it for nearly 15 years and I own 16 decks – a collection which is ever-expanding. I’ve read for many people, both friends and paid clients and I enjoy it immensely. I like to read my own cards when I need advice, when I don’t know what choice to make or when I’m dealing with some heavy emotions. But the most common way I use tarot is for my monthly readings and goal-setting.

The Radiant Rider-Waite deck

When it comes to my monthly readings I find my favourite being the Radiant Rider-Waite deck. It’s a classic straight-forward deck which is full of signs and symbols that can be interpreted in a number of ways depending on the card’s position, the suit, the question, whether it’s upright or reversed, the numbers – there’s so much information packed into just one card. I read intuitively which means that I don’t always rely on the ‘traditional meaning’ of the cards. In fact, sometimes my intuition tells me something completely opposite from what I might find in a book.

Tarot is more a spiritual act for me than simply reading the symbols on cards though. I always ask Inari-Okamisama, any other deities I may be working and sometimes my ancestors with to help with the reading. I find that this helps a lot with the intuitive side of things as often I receive messages through the cards, especially when reading for clients. There have even been times a deity I do not recognise has come through with a message for someone, only for the client to tell me it’s a deity they work with regularly.

How I Read For My Monthly Goals

My January 2019 Reading

When I do my monthly readings I often do it approximately a week before that month. For instance, I did my January 2019 reading this morning. I use a Bullet Journal for pretty much everything and that includes tarot readings.

Every month I create a layout in which I record the cards I pull and my interpretation. I’ve experimented with this a lot and I eventually organised it into five cards and a summary. I draw a card for each area of my life I need advice on; health, spiritual, creativity, work/finance and relationships. I also use a summary section to use if I need a quick reminder during the month.

I have many reasons that I do a monthly tarot reading. I like to see where I am in life, what I can expect if I continue on my path and getting advice from Spirit is always useful. Often I see patterns or even the same card from the previous month which to me means that I still need to put in work into that area of my life. Anyone who reads tarot will know that if we ignore the tarot’s advice it’ll keep telling us the same thing until we do something about it!

Setting Monthly Goals

With my reading done, I can see at a glance what I need to work on and where I need to put my attention. This gives me a foundation for setting goals and for working towards them. I find this a much more realistic way of setting them than just pulling my wants and needs out of thin air.

For example, from my January reading I have set the following goals for the month ahead:

Focus on my mental health and regulating my emotions. I have a DBT workbook I’ve been meaning to go through so this month is perfect for that. Especially focus on dealing with stress.

Make sure to attend all medical appointments.

Experiment more with meditation and journeying. Don’t rely so much on information that others have given me – instead work on developing my own practices and learn from my own experiences.

Work hard this month and cut down spending. Keep in touch with my creative spirit.

These goals then get written down into my journal on my monthly page for January and may get chopped into smaller pieces. I often also write them out on a post-it and stick it on the wall behind my desk so I can see them all month.

Of course I’m only human and sometimes neglect or have a hard time completing goals. To me that just means that the goal needs to be broken down into smaller steps and I need to try again. I’ve learned to not be discouraged and to instead take comfort that I am working on improving myself and my life one step at a time.

Not Just Monthly

I don’t just stop at monthly goals. I’ve also done a 2019 reading as well as a 1st quarter reading for my business. I used to even do weekly and sometimes daily readings but it quickly became rather overwhelming. I just go with whatever works for me at the time.

I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know if you’d be interested in similar posts about tarot and maybe even bullet journalling related to my spiritual life.